The Classic Live Album Is Back! Along with B.B. and Albert, Freddie King was known as one of the "Three Kings of the Blues." And of the three, he?s generally credited with having the greatest impact on rock. Eric Clapton,... more &raquo Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan and countless others have acknowledged a great debt to his brand of guitar playing and have covered his songs. As part of its continued restoration of classic Black Top blues albums, Shout! Factory is proud to make the award-winning Live At The Electric Ballroom, 1974 available to blues fans once again. First issued in 1996, the album contains a stellar concert?featuring such classics as "Hideaway," "Dust My Broom," and "Sweet Home Chicago"?recorded two years before his death, along with revealing taped interviews and King?s only known acoustic recordings. Along with his classic early singles, this essential album rounds out the portrait of a hugely talented and influential blues master.&laquo less

Synopsis

Album Description

The Classic Live Album Is Back! Along with B.B. and Albert, Freddie King was known as one of the "Three Kings of the Blues." And of the three, he?s generally credited with having the greatest impact on rock. Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan and countless others have acknowledged a great debt to his brand of guitar playing and have covered his songs. As part of its continued restoration of classic Black Top blues albums, Shout! Factory is proud to make the award-winning Live At The Electric Ballroom, 1974 available to blues fans once again. First issued in 1996, the album contains a stellar concert?featuring such classics as "Hideaway," "Dust My Broom," and "Sweet Home Chicago"?recorded two years before his death, along with revealing taped interviews and King?s only known acoustic recordings. Along with his classic early singles, this essential album rounds out the portrait of a hugely talented and influential blues master.

CD Reviews

The ultimate party album

Eric Krupin | Salt Lake City, UT | 08/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The phrase "house rocking" suffers from debased coinage. Any journeyman or journeywoman blues artist's record company will slap it on their live CD without giving a second thought to the standard of performance those words properly describe.

But imagine for a moment the smoky blues club of your utopia. Nattily dressed men and big-legged women in short, short miniskirts... sweatily grooving to the hottest electric band you've ever heard. Rasping soul vocals. Stinging guitar leads.

*That* is the kind of house-rocking Freddie King performed in The Electric Ballroom. The result was one of the very best live blues albums ever recorded.

If the people at your next party won't dance to it, you need new friends."

"Ain't Nobody's Business" alone makes the whole CD 5 stars!

Baberufus | West Jordan, UT USA | 11/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great live blues CD--I call it the 70's counterpart to B.B. King's famously heralded "Live At The Regal" from the 60's. Freddie King sings and plays like a man possessed by a blue devil! The sound quality is pretty good, not great, but good enough to capture the artistry of this short-lived bluesman. The radio studio cuts on acoustic provide a glimpse of another side of Freddie King's guitar talents that are largely unknown--solo acoustic. He modestly claims that he's out of his element playing an acoustic, but he does a great job, of course.

The centerpiece to this great CD is his flooring version of "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" (this is one of the live cuts with a full band). Both his vocal and guitar work on this cut are absolutely devastating! The blues doesn't get any better than that!

Highly recommended for adding to your Freddie King collection!"

The texas cannonball

C. C. Eisenhart | God's Country | 03/25/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Which King was/is the best? BB? Albert 'the velvet bulldozer'? or Freddie?I knew them all, and without a doubt Freddie was the most exciting of the three. He was to share a bill at U of R in 1969 with Otis Rush, which I produced. Freddie's manager never told him of the gig. Otis took a wrong turn in NY and didn't show up until 4:30 in the morning and played his butt off. I got to meet Freddie a few weeks later when he was booked at a roadhouse in Rochester for two nights. He didn't know of the prior booking.Didn't matter, when he played those two nights, he was on fire! Over time, I have known and worked with almost all the great blues artists. Maybe, just maybe Luther Allison could have matched him on stage...but knowing both of them, Freddie would have cut him on stage. Big Time!"